On Jan. 25, 2008, the boat was delivered in shrink wrap by truck from the manufacturer to South Coast Cats & Yachts in Kemah, Galveston County, for installation of an outboard engine.

Plaintiff says that South Coast Cats & Yachts "never bothered" to remove all the shrink wrap to inspect the condition of the boat.

According to the complaint, when a contract truck driver went to pick up the boat to deliver it to Hull in Tyler on Feb. 13, the driver notified Hull that the boat appeared to be in faulty condition.

The next day the shrink wrap was removed and a third party told Hull there was inadequate fiberglass underneath the gelcoat on the top deck, the suit states. Hull claims a fiberglass technician showed him that he could push his finger through the gelcoat on the brand new boat where the fiberglass should be holding the water out.

Hull then contacted Aksano Manufacturing about the boat's condition.

On Feb. 15, Hull provided written notification to Aksano and South Coast that he was rejecting delivery or acceptance of the boat.

According to the plaintiff's complaint, a marine surveyor inspected the boat on Feb. 20, and reported several problems with the craft:

The liner in the deck module was too thin to maintain boat safety;

Cracks, scrapes and gelcoat chips were present over the entire body of the hull;

Fractures were present in the fiberglass laminate;

Drains had been installed so that they drained directly into the boat's hull; and

A structural report shows inadequate fiberglass hull panel.

On March 4, Hull filed suit in Galveston County against Aksano Boats, Oguz Aksan, South Coast Catamarans doing business as South Coast Cats & Yachts and James Babcock of Galveston County for action under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Hull is claiming fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, breach of warranty and negligence in duty of reasonable and ordinary care. He is seeking damages and interest.